Erlangen 2026 – wissenschaftliches Programm

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GP: Fachverband Geschichte der Physik

GP 4: Instruments and Measurement

GP 4.1: Hauptvortrag

Dienstag, 17. März 2026, 16:15–17:15, KH 02.019

Scientific Instruments and the Evolution of Experimental Volcanology: Insights from Mount Etna — •Valentina Roberti — Department of Humanities, University of Catania, Italy

This contribution examines the emergence of volcanology as an experimental science through an analysis of the scientific instruments employed in research on Mount Etna. Beginning with Giovanni Alfonso Borelli’s investigations of the 1669 eruption, scholars progressively incorporated new methods and instruments into the study of volcanic activity. The development of volcanology as an autonomous field, however, was neither linear nor uniform; rather, it was initially shaped by the interaction of different disciplines, such as physics, chemistry, and later geology and mineralogy, as well as by the intrinsic complexity of volcanic phenomena. The analysis is situated within the cultural and academic context of Catania, starting with the university reform of 1779, which introduced the first scientific chairs and promoted the acquisition and commissioning of instruments from both local craftsmen and leading European ateliers. Particular attention is devoted to selected case studies drawn from the cabinets of natural history, physics, and chemistry, whose instruments embodied disciplinary advances and were simultaneously employed in the investigation of Mount Etna. Surviving artefacts provide tangible evidence of the convergence of research and teaching practices that contributed to the institutionalization of volcanology at the University of Catania. These findings have directly informed a broader initiative aimed at enhancing the university’s historical scientific heritage, including the temporary exhibition Lo studio dell’Etna tra strumenti e rappresentazioni (The Study of Mount Etna Between Instruments and Representations), held at the Museo della Fabbrica, Department of Humanities, from 10 March to 30 April 2025.